Electronic Monitoring (EM) has been shown as an effective monitoring tool for fisheries management. This study tests the potential use of EM to monitor Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) used by supply vessels in a tropical tuna purse seine fishing fleet.
The study was conducted on 5 supply vessels operating in the Indian Ocean equipped with EM systems during eight trips accounting for 371 days at sea. The resulting footage was analysed by observers on land. FAD-related activities recorded by the EM were compared to those recorded in the vessels’ logbooks.
The results show a high level of coincidence between both methods. The observed capability of EM in detecting and describing FAD components and activities suggests that it can become a key method for collecting FAD data onboard supply vessels in support of fisheries management
Downloads: 785
